A content analysis of news regarding genetic modification in agriculture

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), specifically if and how they are regulated, serves as one of the most controversial science topics globally. As the public relies on news media to gain an understanding of topics such as genetic modification (GM), this study sought to identify and analyze the beats of journalists, attention cycle and news frames of news stories pertaining to GM. This study examined articles from the New York Times, Associated Press, and USA Today and used hierarchical cluster analysis to identify frames in news coverage from 2015-2020. The predominant frames found were Policy Change Conflicts, Research and Defining the Issue, and Public Opinion is Negative. Those frames regarding This study found that journalists, no matter their beat, need conflict to attach their story to, and when there is no clear conflict frequency of coverage tends to drop or cease altogether. This study posits that PR professionals should leverage conflict when pitching stories to journalists and news editors. However, it also recommends that news editors should ignore the hierarchy of journalist beats which political journalists tend to sit at the top of and science and agriculture journalists tend to sit at the bottom of.